Afghan war veteran, the youngest and last Hero of the Soviet Union, killed confronting an armored vehicle during the August coup
He jumped onto a BMP armored vehicle to throw canvas over its observation slits. The gunner spun the turret and threw him off, but he got up, ran after it, and climbed on again.
A Guards sergeant who served in Afghanistan and worked as a forklift driver in Moscow after demobilization. In the early hours of 21 August 1991, he answered Rutskoy's call for 'Afghan brothers' and joined the defense of the Russian White House; in the Tchaikovsky Tunnel he tried to blind a BMP armored vehicle by covering its observation slits with canvas and was crushed to death, becoming one of the coup's only three fatalities. Posthumously awarded Hero of the Soviet Union and the Medal 'Defender of a Free Russia' No. 1.
Career Timeline
- 1986–1989Service in the VDV, combat tour in Afghanistan (Guards Sergeant)
- 1989–1991Forklift driver, 'Interior' production association, Moscow
- 1991.08.21Killed in the Tchaikovsky Tunnel defending the White House during the August coup